Australia’s love affair with overseas travel is harming big department stores.

Myer chief executive Bernie Brookes fears the high Australian dollar is hitting his and other department stores as large numbers of Australians splash their cash overseas.

The drop in international tourists visiting Australian shores due to the high cost of travel is also having an impact, he says.

“You’ve got this added disadvantage,” Mr Brookes told a media briefing on Thursday as Myer announced a 17.5 per cent fall in first half profit.

“It probably affects us more than it affects discount department stores that sell commoditised products with large quantities of stock.

“Also we’ve got fewer tourists visiting here and we’re very reliant on tourists, particularly in our CBD stores and that doesn’t help us.”

Mr Brookes said some specialty stores were also doing it tough and recording “awful numbers”.

“There’s a lot of them closing their doors – I think we’ve had nine major chains in the last 18 months go kaput and I think that’s a reflection that all of the discretionary retailers are finding it pretty difficult,” he said.

Myer has been trying to revamp its online strategy to stem the flow of sales to overseas websites.

And it began reducing its electrical and whitegoods stock two years ago as consumers started becoming more cautious about their spending.

“We’re at the discretionary end of retail and people will make their lounges last a bit longer, they’ll make their frock last a bit longer and perhaps not replace the suit as often as they would previously,” Mr Brookes said.